Turnover Ratio Joins PPG From Win

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels look to stay unbeaten in West Coast Conference action as they hit the road to square off with the Loyola Marymount Lions at the Gersten Pavilion. This will be the 130th meeting between the Gaels and Lions. Saint Mary's holds a 76-53 advantage in the series after winning the last 10 games in the rivalry.

 

Saint Mary's comes in with an 19-2 overall record after defeating the Santa Clara Broncos 93-77 on Saturday for its ninth straight victory. The last Gaels' loss came at the hands of the nationally-ranked Baylor Bears. Head coach Randy Bennett has led his team to a 8-0 start in the WCC, where the program has done very well in recent history including a share of last year's regular season title. The Gaels have finished no lower than third in the conference in each of the last eight seasons. Saint Mary's leads the league in scoring defense, scoring margin, rebound margin, and assist to turnover ratio.

 

Drew Viney and Anthony Ireland will lead the Lions in this one. Viney is scoring 15.9 ppg and leading the team in rebounding (5.8). He scored 16 points and grabbed four boards in the team's win over Santa Clara. Anthony Ireland is one of the top point guards in the WCC as he is third in the league in assists with 5.2 apg. Ireland is also a capable scorer as he averages 15.9 ppg. Ashley Hamilton and Jarred DuBois are both solid contributors to the Lions' success.

 

Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will look to bounce back from its first home loss of the season as they host the Boston College Eagles for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the John Paul Jones Arena. This will be the 14th meeting in the all-time series. The Cavaliers still hold a 7-6 advantage in the rivalry despite Boston College winning five of the last six meetings, including the last four regular season encounters.

 

Head coach Tony Bennett's team comes in with a 15-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in league play after its being upset 47-45 by its in-state rivals Virginia Tech on Sunday. Virginia is an elite team defensively as it ranks second in the nation in scoring defense with an allowed average of just 50.2 ppg on 38.6 percent shooting. Only two teams have eclipsed the 60-point mark against the Cavaliers this season. Virginia's focus on the defensive end has left it with a sub par average of 64.3 ppg on the offensive end.

 

Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Instate rivals collide in ACC action in Chapel Hill this evening, as the seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels welcome the NC State Wolfpack to the Smith Center. The Tar Heels were handed their worst loss in the Roy Williams' era with a 90-57 rout at the hands of Florida State back on January 14th. North Carolina was able to rebound from that however, with an 82-68 victory at Virginia Tech, posting the 10th win in the last 11 games and moving to 3-1 in league play.

 

This marks the 220th all-time meeting between these rivals. UNC holds a 144-75 series advantage and has won 10 straight and 16 of the last 17 meetings. The 10-game win streak is the longest in the series for North Carolina since a similar span from 1967-70. The Tar Heels' only longer win streak was 11 games from 1934-38.

 

The Wolfpack come into Chapel Hill as one of the better offensive teams in the ACC, ranking third at 76.9 ppg, while shooting a respectable .477 from the floor. All five starters are averaging double figures, led by Scott Wood's 13.3 ppg. Wood, who is shooting a hefty .453 from three-point range (53- of-117) has been perfect at the free-throw line this year, converting all 48 of his opportunities. C.J. Leslie (12.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Richard Howell (11.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg) are a potent duo down low. Lorenzo Brown (12.4 ppg, 6.9 apg) and C.J. Williams (12.0 ppg) complete the quintet. Wood knocked down four three- pointers and went 7-of-7 from the charity stripe in leading NC State with 21 points in the win over Miami. DeShawn Painter came off the bench to pour in 18 points, while Leslie and Williams finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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